I walked over to a chair and sat, facing him once more, the bloodied dagger twirling in my hand. “You should be thankful, Pawl, for I have no doubt Leo would have made quick work of you if you dared crawl into Princess Trinity’s bed. Especially if you had tried to kill her.”
I saw agreement in his eyes, the hint of fear at the thought of being ripped to pieces by Leo. “I told you about Marish and the queen. What else to you want from me? Let me go! I haven’t killed anyone. I’m not a murderer. You have to let me go.”
“Do I?” I sighed deeply and slid my thumb carefully along the edge of the blade collecting the scant remains of his blood into a small drop. He watched, his eyes glued to the movement as I smeared the blood between my fingertips. “I will promise not to kill you, on one condition.”
“Yes. Whatever you want. Anything. Just let me go.”
“Start talking, Pawl. And start at the beginning. What do you know about the events that led to the king’s death twenty-seven years ago?”
“I wasn’t even born then.”
“But your father and Lord Wyse were adults. And you, now their trusted confidant. Their assassin.”
“I didn’t kill anyone.”
“You kidnapped the queen.”
He sighed, perhaps resigned that his involvement couldn’t be concealed any longer, that talking was the only way to save his sorry life. He talked for over an hour and answered my questions. When he was done, I had the information I needed to move forward. He knew more than I did, but not much more. And I still had no idea where to find the queen. But it was a start.
“Thank you, Pawl.” I stood and walked toward the door.
“Wait! What? Where are you going? You said you’d let me go! You can’t leave me here!”
“I said I wouldn’t kill you. And I won’t. But you are a threat to me and mine. Did you really think I would let you leave? To run off and warn your father? Your grandfather?”
He blabbered like a fool, begging for his mother, for the guards, for anyone to come save him. I was not a cold-blooded killer, but I could not let him go. Not yet. Not until the queen was found and my mate was out of danger.
I should simply slit his throat and be done with it. But he didn’t deserve such an easy death.
No, he deserved to suffer.
I pointed to the vid screen and his eyes flared wide. I’d gotten what I needed from him. I typed in my commands and the data was sent to the palace, specifically to Leo’s father, the head of the royal guard. “You’ll be fine until the royal guards show up. It might take some time for them to figure out where you are, but you’ll be alive. For now. But it is a centuries-old tradition on Alera to execute traitors.”
“Wait! No!” He howled as I closed the door behind me wit
h a very soft click.
2
Faith, The Royal Palace, Alera
“You’re back a lot faster than I expected,” Trinity said, coming into the bedroom Nix had found for me in the palace.
I was in bed, but I’d barely slept. The early morning light came through the large window, the pale blue curtains softening it even more. This room was smaller than the one I’d shared with Thor, but no less sumptuous, somewhere on the second floor of the palace.
I had yet to come through the main entrance, being snuck in, once again, through the secret passages. I was still a secret. And now, between realities.
After the insanity of the night before, Nix and I decided we’d keep my existence quiet until we had time to think. While I’d been mated to Thor—no question it had been more than just fucking—that information had only been shared with his parents outside of the palace.
And they were dead.
My mating was a secret, my status as princess was a secret.
I didn’t exist on Alera.
I felt like a ghost. As if I were lost, adrift. Alone.
“Yeah, well, it seems rooting out the traitor was easier than I thought,” I replied drily. I tucked the blanket up higher about my ears.